Chapter 22: Tell the Master to Come Out

Moon-gazing Pavilion.

This was the most dazzling brothel in Sichuan, but I had never been there because I had no money.

So, after making a big score at the Lower Filth Gate, I headed there without a word with our youngest.

And now…

“Great Hero~, why don’t you try the wine I poured for you~.”

“Huh? What was your name again? Whatever, just pour it!”

I was relieving the sorrow of my poverty without end.

No matter how high-end and expensive it was, it was still a brothel.

As soon as I showed some money, I immediately became a VIP. So now, I was drinking expensive Red Flower Poison Wine with two courtesans on each side.

“Wow…! This wine tastes great!”

“Hoho! Great Hero! How can you drink so freely? Here, have some snacks too!”

“Sure, sure.”

The courtesans who were pouring my wine and feeding me snacks were all the top ones in the Moon-gazing Pavilion, their beauty was extraordinary.

Not quite at the level of Somyeong, but close enough?

I usually don’t enjoy beauty, but the wine poured by a pretty woman was truly special.

Maybe because the wine was expensive, it went down smoothly. The snacks were also very delicious.

‘This is life.’

Yes, this is life.

I finally felt like I was on the path to the ordinary life I desired. Now that I had enough money, I could live enjoying this kind of life.

Thinking of the joyful and carefree life ahead, I felt very happy and raised my glass.

“Come on! Let’s drink more! Pour the expensive wine! The expensive wine!”

“Yes, Great Hero.”

As the courtesan was pouring wine into my glass, something caught my eye.

It was the youngest, sitting at the table next to mine with a suspicious look on his face.

‘Hmm?’

I had assigned two courtesans to him and told him to drink as much as he wanted, but he wasn’t drinking or enjoying himself.

Curious, I asked him.

“Hey, youngest. Why aren’t you drinking? Doesn’t the wine taste good? Should I change the courtesans for you?”

“No, it’s not that…”

He answered, staring intently at his glass.

“I heard there’s poison in this wine, so I’m a bit uneasy… What if something goes wrong after drinking it…?”

“Oh, come on. Is that why?”

Seeing our youngest not drinking for such a cute reason, I personally went to his side and poured the wine I was drinking into his glass.

“Hey, youngest. Would this Big Brother give you something strange? Trust me and drink it.”

“But, still…”

“Come on-! Just try it once?”

At first, it’s hard to drink because of the perception that there’s poison in it. I insisted that our youngest drink to help him overcome that barrier.

“Ugh…”

As the Boss, my command was absolute. So eventually…

Gulp-.

“Oh! That’s right! Drink it all!”

He drank the Red Flower Poison Wine in one go.

With an expectant expression, I asked.

“How is it? Tastes good, right?”

“Cough, ugh…”

our youngest grimaced, clutching his throat, as the wine was very bitter.

But soon…

“Ugh… Huh?”

His expression began to relax…

“Wow… What is this…?”

Just like when I first tasted the Red Flower Poison Wine, a smile began to spread across his face.

‘I have created another fan of poison wine.’

Feeling proud, I asked for his review.

“So, how was your first taste of poison wine?”

“At first, it felt like my throat was burning. But then it went down smoothly, and soon a warm sensation spread throughout my body… Wow… I don’t know, but this is amazing?”

“So, it tastes good, right? Then have some more.”

“Yes, Big Brother! More, more please!”

our youngest originally liked alcohol. Now that he had tasted poison wine, he would probably drink a lot of it.

But it didn’t matter.

I was rich now.

“What are you doing? My brother wants to drink more! Bring the most expensive ones! The most expensive ones!”

“Kyaa-! You’re amazing, Great Hero!”

“Where are all the Yegi? Call all the Yegi in the Moon-gazing Pavilion! Let’s have a noisy party!”

“Kyaaa-!”

And so, the night of madness began.

**

“Phew… Ah… I’m getting drunk.”

The advantage of poison wine is that it can make even martial artists with trained bodies feel intoxicated.

I felt my cheeks getting red as I drank another glass of wine.

“Ah… Haha… Ladies… Pour me some more wine! My glass is empty-!”

The youngest had long been dead drunk. Well, it was understandable.

Having discovered the taste of poison wine, he drank like crazy as if he was on a rampage.

Even though his face was already as red as a beet, he kept trying to drink more, so I stopped him.

“Hey, youngest. Drink moderately, moderately.”

“Eh…? Why…? It tastes so good, why should I drink moderately…?”

“No matter what, it’s poison wine. You should drink according to your capacity, if you exceed it, something bad might happen.”

No matter how safely it was mixed, what we were drinking was poison wine.

If it kept accumulating in the body, it wouldn’t have a good effect. Especially since our youngest was drinking beyond his usual capacity, it didn’t look good.

So I tried to stop him…

“No… More, more-!!”

“Ugh, do as you please.”

Normally, he would listen to me well, but he seemed too drunk to distinguish front from back.

If he kept drinking like that, he would have a hard time with a hangover in the morning…

But I decided to leave him alone. our youngest was now 20 years old, he should be responsible for his actions.

“Another bottle of wine here-!”

“Yes!”

As the wine I was drinking ran out, I had a courtesan bring another bottle.

At my command, a courtesan quickly brought a new bottle of wine.

“Great Hero, let this young girl pour you a drink.”

“Sure.”

I naturally held out my glass to the courtesan.

Pour-.

As the wine was poured, a fragrant aroma hit my nose. Another advantage of poison wine is its pleasant scent.

This delightful aroma made the already delicious wine even more tempting.

“Please enjoy, Great Hero.”

“……”

The scent was really nice.

The wine I received was called Red Flower Poison Wine.

A high-end wine made by appropriately mixing red flower poison. It was the wine that our youngest and I had been drinking to our heart’s content.

However… this time, instead of drinking it, I handed the glass to our youngest.

“Here, youngest.”

“Huh…?”

“Drink this.”

“…Huh? But you told me not to drink earlier…”

“Because there’s poison in it.”

At my words, the youngest laughed as if it was absurd.

“Big Brother, what are you talking about? Of course, there’s poison in it, it’s poison wine. Are you really drunk? Haha.”

Then he happily took the glass I handed him and drank it in one go.

I watched the youngest drink the wine and asked.

“Are you okay, youngest?”

“Huh? It’s just delicious wine…? It’s the same as what we drank earlier…?”

“It’s the same wine, but with a different poison. It doesn’t seem to be life-threatening, so you’ll be fine after a good sleep.”

“…Huh? What do you mean… Cough-!”

Thud.

In the end, the youngest couldn’t finish his sentence and collapsed.

“Hmm… The poison was different after all.”

But seeing him breathing regularly and looking peaceful, it didn’t seem to harm his body. He was just asleep.

Pouring the poison wine that put our youngest to sleep into my glass, I spoke to the courtesans nearby.

“I heard there are some brothels that mix different poisons in the wine to make the customers dead drunk and then overcharge them.”

The courtesans were already trembling, realizing something was wrong.

“G-Great Hero… What do you mean…”

“You were planning to knock us out and overcharge us in the morning, right?”

“W-We don’t know anything…”

Thud.

I drank the wine that our youngest had just drunk.

“…!”

The courtesans’ eyes widened in shock. They couldn’t understand why I would drink it after seeing what happened to him.

But…

“This poison wine tastes good too.”

…I was fine after drinking it. In fact, it tasted good.

Looking at the courtesans who were staring at me in horror, I said.

“Call the Master.”

Sorry, but I’m the one who extorts, not the one who gets extorted. Today, I’ll make sure this brothel understands that.

**

After that, I caused a bit of a scene. Well, it wasn’t much, I just yelled a lot.

“Hey, I have nothing to say to you! Call the Master-!”

“We’re sorry. B-But we don’t have the authority to call the Master…”

“Oh, so who’s going to take responsibility for the different poison in the wine? Huh? Are you going to take responsibility? What if I had died from drinking this? Huh? Answer me!”

“B-But you drank it and you’re fine…”

Seeing me fine after drinking the poison wine, one of the courtesans said that, so I took the wine bottle with the different poison and approached her.

“Huh? I’m fine? Oh, my head. My head hurts so much. What, do you want to try it? Open your mouth. I’ll pour it all into your mouth.”

As I grabbed her cheek and said that, the courtesan, terrified, answered.

“W-We’re sorry. Please forgive us…”

“If you’re sorry, call the Master right now-! I can’t pay for this wine, and I need compensation for the mental damage, so call the Master!”

The key to causing a scene is to keep yelling persistently. This way, the other party will get tired and have no choice but to comply with my demands.

“Or should I report this to the authorities? Do you want the Moon-gazing Pavilion to be shut down? If you don’t want that, call the Master right now-!”

And finally…

Creak-.

“Customer, the Master is here.”

The door I had been eagerly waiting to open finally opened.

At the clear voice introducing herself as the Master, I turned my head. I was planning to yell loudly to make a strong impression.

But…

“Why did you come so late-! Do you know what I’ve been through…”

As soon as I saw the Master of the Moon-gazing Pavilion walking in…

“……”

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Was there a problem at our Moon-gazing Pavilion?”

She was beautiful. So beautiful that I momentarily held my breath.

“If there was a problem, I will help you.”

And when she said that with a smile…

“……”

I momentarily wondered if I drank too much.